Rumor New Monorails Coming Soon?

[ChrisFL]

I don’t see there being much of a chance of this being true...

And you’ve followed me be an internal optimist for years

I think Disney only really has two choices in the upcoming years....either replace the fleet or stop using them. They cannot keep using the same old monorails, especially with the various accidents and mishaps over the past few years.

If they have one more major incident that's covered on social media or major news outlets, that's not a good thing. Disney is extremely averse to negative press, especially when it comes to safety.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think Disney only really has two choices in the upcoming years....either replace the fleet or stop using them. They cannot keep using the same old monorails, especially with the various accidents and mishaps over the past few years.

If they have one more major incident that's covered on social media or major news outlets, that's not a good thing. Disney is extremely averse to negative press, especially when it comes to safety.

Does it matter what they do from a PR Standpoint these days?

Dusters keep hitting the pipe. Did they rescind that 100% meaningless parking fee yet? Or are people just shutting up and paying?

 

[Andrew C]

Does it matter what they do from a PR Standpoint these days?

For this issue, yes, it could eventually. And not just from a PR standpoint.

Disney is not protected by this impenetrable invisible shield no matter how much some may believe this. There is a tipping point for everything.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For this issue, yes, it could eventually. And not just from a PR standpoint.

Disney is not protected by this impenetrable invisible shield no matter how much some may believe this. There is a tipping point for everything.

They have a price tipping point - combined with market forces...

I don’t know about PR...

They’ve upsold everything, doubled their prices, experienced large attendance boosts without additions to address them, the gator incident, the threat of domestic terrorist to tourist spots, a monorail crash...

Nothing has made a dent.

 

[Kamikaze]

They have a price tipping point - combined with market forces...

I don’t know about PR...

They’ve upsold everything, doubled their prices, experienced large attendance boosts without additions to address them, the gator incident, the threat of domestic terrorist to tourist spots, a monorail crash...

Nothing has made a dent.

Made a dent? They've only increased revenue.

 

[HauntedPirate]

There are plenty of times things change or are wrong...even our own insiders get it wrong, based on rapidly changing priorities in a huge company or other reasons.

But insiders here don't go posting new threads with "BREAKING!!!" in the title, and then never say a word if plans change and the information they posted becomes wrong. Clickbait needs that attention to pay the bills, the insiders here don't.

 

[hanwill]

who knows what is the truth... but after all these years of going to WDW... I did notice that the monorails looked really old this time...not dirty, old. I was sad because it was my favorite ride as a kid... It was the start (and end) of a magical adventurous day.

 

[Bigart]

We shall have to wait and see if the limited report has any basis in fact, and of course it could be possible. If true, I do not believe however that the 300's will be the chassis used, but rather a modified version of the 200 series.

To answer a few previous questions, the WDW Mark VI Monorails were concept designed and licensed by Walt Disney Imagineering (based on the Mark IV Bob Gurr concept design) and were licensed to and engineered and built by a partnership between TGI Inc. and Bombardier, who did the engineering and construction of the Mark VI fleet. I still have a few of the original TGI design proposal books from early 1987, when the contract was awarded.

 

[Rteetz]

So we won't hear anything until AT LEAST the Destination D event in November, if not during D23 next year?

If they don’t have a deal with a company yet there is no announcement planned. I’m not sure Destination D would be where they would announce this anyways.

 

[Castle Cake Apologist]

Mini Van, is expensive if used


I do not think it is that complicated. Take the monorail loop and route it south by the solar farm leaving Epcot to serve HS. From HS, continue west to AK, return back north and connect back to Epcot Mickey solar farm. That total loop will be less track than the loop added for Epcot and will service all 4 parks. And for the cost argument, again, refund the Gondola, Ferry Boat Dock, Roads/Bridges, etc.... Then the buses would serve Resort to Parks, monorail Park to Park. I just don't like how disjointed everything is, and again, everybody is more upset about the broken yeti, then spending hours on your vacation waiting for transport.

Wait. Am I reading this incorrectly, or are you suggesting that they get rid of everything outside of the monorail and limited busses?

Do you honestly think that erradicating all other transportation options will somehow make the transportation system at WDW run better and have shorter lines?

You complain about waiting hours for transportation, but then also propose completely gutting the capacity of the transportation system?

Does your plan also consist of adding several additional beams to service the existing routes to make up the difference in capacity? See, capacity is finite. If you think lines for the monorails are bad now, I can't imagine what you think it would be like if the monorail was the only option for getting anywhere.

 

[WhatJaneSays]

They have a price tipping point - combined with market forces...

I don’t know about PR...

They’ve upsold everything, doubled their prices, experienced large attendance boosts without additions to address them, the gator incident, the threat of domestic terrorist to tourist spots, a monorail crash...

Nothing has made a dent.

Interestingly enough the only thing in the last few years that made a noticeable "dent", at least from turnstile count, that I know of was the Rio Olympics. One of my inside mice that sees the dailies actually remarked on it a few times over the Summer of 2016. Apparently many of the major touring companies from South America did the Olympics instead of WDW.

(Can't say that I blame them! WDW will be there for years, the Olympics coming somewhere you can travel to easily is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most folks.)

 

[articos]

The beams are fine. The trains, well...new is better than the state they are in now. And would allow for WDW’s ever growing guest numbers.

 

[esskay]

They were poured in tbe swamp 50 years ago and will have to be replaced eventually at a cost disney will NEVER pay for?

FWIW theres nothing structurally wrong with the beams (even on the epcot line). The design of them is sound and they are good for at least another 20 years, the only improvement that can be made if needed is a reskin of the upper stage, and even then it would be purely for comfort of passengers.

300s won't work but 200s will.

Actually they will, with modification. Although it really wouldn't make any technical difference either way - both designs would require modifications to fit through the Contemporary.

The design would likely be based on the 300 as thats the model the development focus is on. They'd then just use a modified chassis design, and would presumably take advantage of the Innova AMP system (absolutely no reason they cant, the WDW system is tiny in comparison to most modern day monorails). Essentially following a similar driverless setup to systems such as the DLR in London England.

This is of course assuming Bombardier is given the contract and not someone else - monorails using the ALWEG system arent in short supply and people here seem to be taking way too much of the Mark IV > Mark VI transition into account - back then there wasnt the mass support or usage of monorails like there is today.

Also no idea where people got the idea that the monorail is expensive to run from. The only reason the current fleet is costing so much is because of all the incidents. When maintained the Mark IV ran at around $0.06 per passenger mile, and the IV at upto $0.10 per passenger mile.

 

[articos]

FWIW theres nothing structurally wrong with the beams (even on the epcot line). The design of them is sound and they are good for at least another 20 years, the only improvement that can be made if needed is a reskin of the upper stage, and even then it would be purely for comfort of passengers.


Actually they will, with modification. Although it really wouldn't make any technical difference either way - both designs would require modifications to fit through the Contemporary.

The design would likely be based on the 300 as thats the model the development focus is on. They'd then just use a modified chassis design, and would presumably take advantage of the Innova AMP system (absolutely no reason they cant, the WDW system is tiny in comparison to most modern day monorails). Essentially following a similar driverless setup to systems such as the DLR in London England.

Right.

 

[NelsonRD]

Wait. Am I reading this incorrectly, or are you suggesting that they get rid of everything outside of the monorail and limited busses?

Do you honestly think that erradicating all other transportation options will somehow make the transportation system at WDW run better and have shorter lines?

You complain about waiting hours for transportation, but then also propose completely gutting the capacity of the transportation system?

Does your plan also consist of adding several additional beams to service the existing routes to make up the difference in capacity? See, capacity is finite. If you think lines for the monorails are bad now, I can't imagine what you think it would be like if the monorail was the only option for getting anywhere.

I dunno, at this point I kinda feel like you're trolling us.

What is your argument? Everybody ride buses? I am simply repeating the idea that expanding the monorail is not as out of bounds as been claimed for the past 20 years. Especially when considering how much has been spent on transport projects that may not have been needed with a monorail expansion. And yes, I believe if they have more than 2 monorails on a beam, it will significantly reduce lines and increase throughput. I am not suggesting the monorail is the only way, I am suggesting it should have been looked at earlier, as a better solution to what is currently being implemented.

 

[roj2323]

It's a little out there perhaps, but I'm honestly suprised no one has concidered whether or not Disney would build the trains themselves. This honestly would be the best solution as it would allow them to engineer the trains to suit their needs and make them far more serviceable than the current trains which are a PITA to keep going.

 

[esskay]

It's a little out there perhaps, but I'm honestly suprised no one has concidered whether or not Disney would build the trains themselves.

1970's Disney would absolutely do this. I'm not sure modern day Disney would however. It's going to be a lot more cost effective (And quicker) to just buy slightly modified stock monorails from an experienced manufacturer at this stage.

 

[Flalex72]

I will say that the new monorail fleet will most likely be manufactured at Bombardier's Plant in Plattsburgh, NY and will then be shipped down to Florida.

My guess is that if it is Bombardier, they will be built at the Millhaven (Kingston) plant, which is alredy equipped for monorail production and is the filming location for the first video you posted. Trucking distance isn't that much greater, they already build monorails there, and there are no Buy America concerns as it's a private buyer.

 

[lentesta]

My understanding is that a Disney exec disclosed this to CMs in a live meeting over the weekend. I was DM’d about it shortly after it happened. No mention was made of an imminent order though.

Reliable CM.

 

[donsullivan]

Mini Van, is expensive if used


I do not think it is that complicated. Take the monorail loop and route it south by the solar farm leaving Epcot to serve HS. From HS, continue west to AK, return back north and connect back to Epcot Mickey solar farm. That total loop will be less track than the loop added for Epcot and will service all 4 parks. And for the cost argument, again, refund the Gondola, Ferry Boat Dock, Roads/Bridges, etc.... Then the buses would serve Resort to Parks, monorail Park to Park. I just don't like how disjointed everything is, and again, everybody is more upset about the broken yeti, then spending hours on your vacation waiting for transport.

Before just throwing that out there I would encourage you to spend some time walking through how it would actually work. Do't just touch on the 35,000 foot view of where stations and routes would be, focus on how the guest would actually get from place to place using that system. What would a guest have to go through to get from point to point? What would happen when a train arrives at a park at park close and it's full and nobody can board (there would be a riot) because the park before it on the beam closed around the same time. How many stops and changes does it take go get from all the common point A to PoInt B scenarios? How long would it take a guest to get between the farthest points of the routes vs what it takes today (do this without hyperbole I the measurements).

Its easy to throw things like that out there but it's vital that you clearly understand exactly how the guests would actually experience this. In most cases, history has taught me that the guest experience would be so confusing, difficult and slow that the value is just not there. While it may seem like it would be cool, it would not likely be a positive experience for the guests.